Montreal Mayor, Denis Coderre, and Toronto Mayor, John Tory, visited the Western Wall on Friday with a delegation of their cities Jewish communities.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, greeted them and explained the importance of the site as a place of prayer for the Jewish nation. Jews in Montreal and Toronto pray toward this place said the Rabbi, while expressing his appreciation for their support of the Jewish communities in their cities.
During the visit, the Mayor of Toronto stated that the Western Wall in Jerusalem is the place that connects all Jewish communities around the world to the site of the Temple. The Jewish community of Toronto is a pillar of the city, he said, adding that he is happy to visit Jerusalem and identify with the values and faith of the Jewish people.
The Mayor of Montreal took advantage of his visit to the holy site and wished to recite kaddish for the Jewish singer Leonard Cohen who passed away recently and had been a resident of Montreal. The Western Wall was important to Leonard, said the Mayor, He was very connected to it and would visit it every time he came to Israel. The heads of the Jewish community of Montreal joined the Mayor in the kaddish.
The mayors placed notes between the stones of the Western Wall and received a book about the Western Wall Tunnels which surveys the discoveries made in excavations around the Western Wall, all of which point to the deep connection between the Jewish nation and the Temple Mount.
